Support For Tea Party Falling In Districts Which Elected Members To Congress

November 29, 2011 — Ron Chusid

Support for the Tea Party continues to decline, even in districts which voted for one of them to represent them in Congress. In addition, their view of the Republican Party has also declined along with the Tea Party. The Pew Research Center reports:

Since the 2010 midterm elections, the Tea Party has not only lost support nationwide, but also in the congressional districts represented by members of the House Tea Party Caucus. And this year, the image of the Republican Party has declined even more sharply in these GOP-controlled districts than across the country at large.

In the latest Pew Research Center survey, conducted Nov. 9-14, more Americans say they disagree (27%) than agree (20%) with the Tea Party movement. A year ago, in the wake of the sweeping GOP gains in the midterm elections, the balance of opinion was just the opposite: 27% agreed and 22% disagreed with the Tea Party. At both points, more than half offered no opinion.

Throughout the 2010 election cycle, agreement with the Tea Party far outweighed disagreement in the 60 House districts represented by members of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus. But as is the case nationwide, support has decreased significantly over the past year; now about as many people living in Tea Party districts disagree (23%) as agree (25%) with the Tea Party.

The Republican Party’s image also has declined substantially among people who live in Tea Party districts. Currently, 41% say they have a favorable opinion of the GOP, while 48% say they have an unfavorable view. As recently as March of this year, GOP favorability was 14 points higher (55%) in these districts, with just 39% offering an unfavorable opinion

Among the public, 36% now say they have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, down from 42% in March.

It is no surprise that the Tea Party has not only declined in support but has also dragged down the GOP. Polls have also showed declining support for the Occupy Wall Street movement but obviously we cannot have a comparable study of Congressional districts which have elected OWS candidates. I expect OWS to continue to lose support as long as they concentrate on fighting over being able to occupy public property as opposed to concentrating on their original issue of income inequality. If OWS continues on its current road and falls in support, hopefully they will neither drag down the Democratic Party or cause people to forget about the underlying issue–an area of original success.